Mattress anchor



March 29, 1966 J. L. PETERSON 3,242,507

MATTRESS ANCHOR Filed Oct. 11, 1963 FIG. I

INVENT OR JAMES L. PETERSON BY awn ML, W I W Y Mm,

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Ofi ice 3,242,507 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 3,242,507MATTRESS ANCHQR James L. Peterson, 1150 1st St, Idaho Fails, Idaho FiledOct. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 315,454 1 Claim. (Cl. 5-322) This inventionrelates to a novel bed assembly, and more particularly to a novel bedassembly containing a mattress anchor.

Heretofore, it has been a difiicult problem to design a bed assemblywhose mattress would firmly adhere at all times to the bed springsduring constant use. This problem has been particularly prevalent withregard to hospital beds whose springs are adjustable so as to change theposition of the patient from a reclining to that of a sitting positionduring the course of his confinement. It has been found that, when theadjustments are made to the springs of these hospital beds, the mattressdisplays a tendency to slip from its original position directly on topof or over the bed springs to an off-center and dangling position. Thistendency of the mattress to slide over the bed springs is also presentin the case of ordinary mattresses and bed springs, due to theirconstant use. Further, this undesirable tendency of periodic slippagenot only will annoy persons sleeping upon the beds, since the mattressis consequently not disposed directly over the bed springs, but it willunduly wear the fabric of the mattress due to its constant rubbingagainst the harshness of the hard metal bed springs.

In the past, different techniques have been utilized to keep themattress in its original position upon the bed springs. One such methodwhich has been tried was to provide various parts of the mattress withties for firmly anchoring it to the bed springs. Such a technique hasnot proved satisfactory because the attachment was difficult toaccomplish since the tying may be only performed by inconvenientlyreaching under the bed itself where the ties are attached to theunderside of the mattress. Further, this attachment requires theadditional inconvenience of untying the anchor means before the mattresscan be removed from the springs. Still further, due to the periodicforces exerted upon the mattress during use, it has been found that thetying means, when in a securing relation with the bed springs,frequently rupture and tear away from the mattress, leaving it free toslide along the harsh springs, and thus become worn.

This invention contemplates a novel and simplified bed assemblycomprising a mattress, bed springs, and a means for frictionallyanchoring the mattress to the bed spring. This novel arrangementeliminates mattress slippage on the bed springs, regardless of theposition of the mattress in relation to the bed frame, due to thepresence of a frictional anchoring means. It has been found that thisfrictional anchor decreases wear upon the mattress and thereby greatlyincreases its life of usefulness. In fact, the useful life of a mattresshas now been increased by a factor of five over the life of a mattresswithout any frictional anchoring means. Further, this novel combinationeliminates the need for the inconvenient and unreliable mattress tiesfor anchoring the mattress to the bed springs. These and other novelfeatures of the invention will be better understood after consideringthe following discussion, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevated view of the novel combination;and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

In the embodiment herein illustrated there is shown an adjustable bedcomprising a bed frame 1 and attached thereto legs 2. Located within thebed frame 1 is an adjustable bed spring 3. A mattress 4 is disposeddirectly over the bed spring 3 and located between the bed spring 3 andmattress 4, a mattress anchor 5 is positioned.

This mattress anchor 5 is preferably in the shape of a rectangular sheetof material whose facial dimensions are equal to that of the mattress 4,except that the thickness of the anchor 5 is preferably aboutone-quarter inch. An anchor of such a planar dimension provides moresurface frictional contact area so as to hold the mattress and bedspring more firmly together. This anchor is also preferably flexibleand, accordingly, easy to spread on the bed spring 3 prior to themattress being placed thereon.

The particular composition of the mattress anchor might vary but it mustdisplay the characteristic of providing a frictional or adhesive surfacebetween the mattress 4 and the bed spring 3 so as to hold the mattressin place at all times, regardless of its position relative to the bedframe 1. Such compositions which have been found satisfactory includeanchor sheets 5 made of either thermoplastic or thermosetting resins,for example, sponge or foam rubber.

It has been found that, with the above-noted materials, it isunnecessary to fasten the anchor sheet 5 to the spring 3 or the mattress4 since the adhesive quality of the anchor sheet 5 holds the mattress 4by gripping the fabric of the mattress 4 while, on the other hand, whenthe added weight of the mattress 4 is placed on top of the foam anchorsheet 5, the anchor sheet 5 practically surrounds each wire of thespring 3 to firmly secure the anchor sheet 5 from movement relative tothe bed spring 3, because of its compressible characteristic. It is thusevident that once the weight of the mattress 4 is placed upon the anchorsheet 5, the coeflicient of friction, existing between the mattress 4and the anchor sheet 5, will be a great deal greater than thecoefiicient which would be present between the mattress 4 and bed spring3 if the anchor sheet 5 were not present.

Various changes may be made in the details of the invention asdisclosed, Without departing from the scope or sacrificing theadvantages thereof.

Iclaim:

In a bed assembly comprising a bed spring and separate mattress restingunattachedly thereon, the improvement comprising a mattress anchor of asheet of sponge rubber having a surface with high coefficient offriction and having the same horizontal dimensions as the mattressinterposed therebetween whereby the mattress is prevented from lateralslippage across the bed springs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,847,685 5/1952Freedlander 5-354 3,116,196 12/1963 Terry 5351 X FOREIGN PATENTS 808,7587/ 1949 Germany. 447,100 12/1935 Great Britain. 215,905 11/1941Switzerland.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner.

